Persons having physical ailments which require therapy and/or treatment on a regular basis are becoming more aware of the availability of therapists, chiropractors and the like who make visits to the person's office or home to provide the treatment. This enables busy executives to use their time more efficiently in the office and provides an option for persons who have difficulty in traveling from their homes. Also, due to the stresses of the present business world, there is an increased interest and need for persons to receive massages to relax and stimulate their bodies. In order to provide these services, the therapist making the office or home visit needs a portable chair on which to seat the patient to permit the therapy to be provided in an efficient manner. This chair should be adjustable to be capable of seating patients of differing sizes and heights and also to enable the therapist to more effectively treat the patient by providing the therapist with improved access to the patient. A further need for such a chair is in the office of the therapist, chiropractor or the like where space is a factor and the availability of a lightweight, foldable chair for a patient can significantly save valuable space as compared to a therapy table or a non-foldable chair.
The existing portable message chairs are comparatively heavy and have more limited adjustability. U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,167 issued to Palmer et al discloses a wooden chair which includes a case with a lid and which contains a seat member, a leg rest, an arm rest, a chest support, a face cradle and a brace assembly, all individual components which are assembled to form the chair. U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,040 issued to Gillotti discloses a wooden body member with a chest cushion, a face cushion, a pair of arm cushions and a leg portion pivotably connected to the body member.
Safadago et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,207,879 discloses a prone board which can be converted to a chair. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,354,485 Safadago discloses an alternate embodiment of a prone board for therapeutic usage. U.S. Pat. No 4,453,768 issued to Cranford, Jr. et al discloses a portable reclining examination chair including a container in which the components may be stored for transportation. U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,361 issued to Patterson discloses a physical therapy chair which has an elongated, rigid base. A seat portion is disposed above the rear end of the base. Arm, chest and head rests are disposed on a support over the front end of the base. An ergonomic seating assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,249 issued to Serber. The assembly includes a pelvic tilt seat which is mounted on an upright post. The assembly is not foldable and is configured for unimpeded movement of the arms.
Additional prior art patents known to the applicant and which are pertinent to foldable chairs and sit-kneel chairs are the following:
______________________________________ Inventor U.S. Pat. No. ______________________________________ Schneider 2,181,465 Sherman 3,594,037 Okuda 4,215,680 Dungan 4,589,699 Linguanotto 4,685,730 Pettijean 4,830,429 Breckel, et al 4,913,487 ______________________________________
Thus, there exists a need for a lightweight, portable and adjustable chair on which a patient can be seated to facilitate treatment by a therapist.